Hamilton Beach 31401 Countertop vs Cuisinart TOA-60 Side-by-Side Comparison

With our Toast test, we determined the best option was right at the position of the Toast icon—around 4 minutes 15 seconds on the timer, scoring a 7.7/10. Turning the knob halfway down would result in no color and turning it halfway up nearly burnt the toast.

With 4m 15s, the Hamilton Beach produced 4 pieces with a light golden brown color on the top and golden on the bottom. Although that was great, the top and the bottom were quite different and they were both only about 80% even throughout. Thus, we gave it a 7.5/10.

The first batch of toast had a nice balance of crispiness on the outside and softness on the inside, deserving an 8/10 for taste. Our head chef Tuyet Pham determined it would go well with pretty much everything including eggs benedict, omelet, and especially sandwiches. It wasn’t as suitable for soup but the second batch was.

The second batch got crispier and more even in color. However, it also became browner so we gave it a 7.3/10 for consecutive usability. If you want the second batch to be the same as the first, remember to only turn the knob to ¾ to Medium—around 3 minutes 40 seconds.

During our Toast test, the Light toast level—around 2 minutes 30 seconds on the timer—gave no color and the Medium one—around 5 minutes on the timer—was too brown even though the color was even. We determined that right in the middle of Medium and Light toast level—around 4 minutes on the timer—was the best option scoring an 8.1/10.

Toasting bread for 4 minutes with the Cuisinart produced 4 pieces with a beautiful golden color throughout thanks to the deployment of the convection fan. This oven was the first one to score a 9/10 for even toast surface color.

The first batch of toast was quite crispy yet very soft inside, worthy of a 9/10. Our head chef Tuyet Pham determined they would be great to go with sandwiches, omelet, and eggs benedict. For soup, however, they didn’t cut the mustard but that could be rectified with the extra crispiness of a second batch.

While the second batch had a brown color, it had a few dark spots so it got a 6/10 for consecutive usability. If you want the second batch to be the same as the first, remember to lower it down to Light—around 2 minutes 30 seconds.

The Hamilton didn’t perform well in baking a 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza scoring a 5.6/10.

Compared to the recommended 10 minutes on the label, the oven took only a tad bit longer at 10m 30s. However, this meant that it failed the cooking time criterion with 10 minutes being the time limit for our Pizza test.

For the most part, the crust didn’t have a good toasted coloring and was soft so it got a 6/10. The toppings had pretty good caramelization but some darkened areas of the cheese lowered the score to 7.5/10. After tasting the pizza, our chef gave it a 7/10.

The Cuisinart baked a very appetizing 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza scoring a 9.6/10 despite using only the included baking pan.

Compared to the recommended 10 minutes on the label, it only took 3m 30s to bake the pizza which was extremely fast. In comparison to other toaster ovens in our Pizza test, it deserved a whopping 10/10.

The crust came out a tempting golden brown with some nicely charred spots—if a little soft due to the short cooking time. Thus, it got a 9.2/10.

The pizza itself also had excellent even coloring all over from the good convection system. Thanks to the high and steady temperature, the melted cheese was also perfectly caramelized earning it a 9.8/10.

After tasting, our chef gave the pizza a 9.5/10.

This was one of the rare occasions where an oven failed the entirety of our Whole Roasted Chicken test. Our speculations concerned the instability of the heating elements and the fact that the chicken grazed the upper safeguard during cooking.

After 1h 30m—our time limit, the oven wasn’t able to roast the chicken to a desirable outcome and failed the first criterion. After roasting, the skin had no noticeable caramelization and barely enough for a 5/10.

The chicken reached an internal temperature of 176°F which was quite good. However, the meat itself was undercooked and still pink in a lot of areas. Thus, it was another failure. Due to the meat being undercooked, our chef couldn’t taste it to give a score.

Following our Whole Roasted Chicken test, we placed a 3 lb chicken inside an air fryer basket on top of a baking pan and it fit without a problem. Although the air fryer basket had plenty of space, the pan was quite rigid so we had to be extra careful when taking it out to flip the chicken.

Unfortunately, while cooking the chicken, fat splashed everywhere inside the oven leading to some smoking. All things considered, the Cuisinart earned an 8.5/10 for this test—on par with a good toaster oven that uses a rotisserie kit like the Instant Omni Plus 18L.

It took 50 minutes to roast, which is shorter than average and deserving of a 9/10.

Despite not having a rotisserie kit, we were able to achieve adequately crispy skin with an even golden brown color scoring a 9.5/10. We did it by spreading the chicken out and flipping it after the first 40 minutes of cooking.

High convection and flipping helped the chicken to be thoroughly cooked without any pink spots in just 50 minutes. However, the internal temperature was a little too high at 205-207°F compared to the USDA recommended 165°F-180°F, so it got an 8/10.

Due to being spread out, the wings were extremely crispy and deliciously fall-off-the-bone. However, the wings and the breast ended up a little dry so our chef gave the chicken an 8/10 for taste.

The Hamilton Beach wasn’t suitable for baking 12 oz of french fries scoring only a 4/10.

There were no noticeable changes to the fries after 30 minutes of baking in this oven. Due to our time limit of 25 minutes, this constituted a failure in the cooking time section of our Baked French Fries test.

There was no change in the fries’ color so they received a 5/10. The oven basically thawed and heated the fries so they were very soggy scoring another 5/10. Our chef could only give the fries a minimal score of 5/10 for taste.

The Cuisinart baked some excellent french fries scoring a 9.2/10.

It took only 12 minutes to cook 12 oz of french fries which was very fast. In fact, it’s the fastest one throughout our Baked French Fries test so far so it scored a perfect 10/10.

Due to the shorter cooking time than ideal, the color wasn’t entirely even but was good enough for a 9.5/10.

The fries were crispy and golden on the outside while moist on the inside thanks to the strong convection and the air fryer basket. Thus, we gave it a 9.2/10 for texture.

Our chef gave it an 8.7/10 for taste.